An Open Letter To Vitalik Buterin re. Nouriel Roubini

Don't give Dr. Doom the attention he craves.

Mr. Roubini has repeatedly attacked the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. You have repeatedly advocated for them. It might seem natural that a discussion between the two of you would be fruitful and enlightening.

However, I believe that this would not be the case.

Mr. Roubini has sensationalized his antipathy for cryptocurrency to an alarming degree. His quest is not to engage in real discussion – his mind is made up. Instead, his motivation is to advance an erroneous and disturbing narrative that our industry is evil, corrupt, foolish.

He is on the attack, and he expects our representatives to rise up to face him.

You may not always wish to don the mantle of spokesman for the cryptocurrency world, but at other times it’s a role you have embraced.

His attack would be legitimized if someone of your standing were to engage in debate with him. I believe that the very nature of such a debate would necessarily require you to defend, while he attacks. When one of his economic blows lands (as it surely would – whatever else he is, he certainly isn’t stupid) it will be seized upon by his allies – CNBC, Bloomberg, and the other media outlets that give him the airtime he craves.

Never mind that you dispassionately argue about decentralization, or demonstrate the societal good that has come of your creation – his goal is to provide a sound bite for the circling media sharks.

That’s the trap. You cannot win.

The challenge to debate is designed with only negative resolution in mind: to decontextualize your words, to trap you, to force a mistake. It doesn’t matter that he’s wrong, so long as you are too. Will the media report your point about existing financial systems? Or the low blow he lands on a stolen ETH story?

Remember, in a society that becomes less civil by the day, Mr. Roubini has taken a page out of the playbook of another successful Twitter character, and has opted to debase rather than debate.

99% of crypto land is one shitcoin traded for another shitcoin. And the average shitcoin lost 90% or more of its value in the last year. So Crypto Land is Crap Land, a cesspool of lunatics with severe Freudian scatological obsessions that swim 24/7 in their own stinking shit.

Those are not the words of someone who seeks rational discourse. When Mr. Roubini continued by declaring that crypto is a haven for right-wing extremists; when he said that its proponents were fascists; when he opined that you and I, for advancing this technology, are racists; that’s when Mr. Roubini lost his right to debate.

Mr. Roubini doesn’t want a discussion – he wants a platform. A pedestal from which he can rain down insults with little fear of repercussion.

After all, this is a man invited to give ‘expert testimony’ on cryptocurrency to the United States Senate. Whose outlandish behavior is rewarded with TV appearances. Instead of being sanctioned for his inchoate ramblings on cryptocurrency (and lies – he knows as well as you do that there’s a difference between PoW and PoS; he just chooses not to relay that knowledge to the Senate) he is offered the opportunity to debate our finest minds.

So as someone who co-founded a company that has dedicated itself to advocacy within this industry, I ask you not to grace Mr. Roubini with your acceptance.

Like a naughty child who cries for attention from their time-out stool, Mr. Roubini must be ignored – at least, until he stops throwing his crypto tantrum.

He’ll get tired in the end.

And when he does, when he calms down a little, that will be the time to have a serious talk.

Not before.

Sincerely,

Jon Rice

Co-Founder and Managing Editor, Crypto Briefing

This article is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Crypto Br… wait, yes it does. Absolutely.

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I'm the Managing Editor at Crypto Briefing. I like to build things. Especially communities. This community - despite all the arguments, the rivalries, the diverse viewpoints - is still part of something that much of the world has not yet discovered. By participating positively in our community we bring strength to our infrastructure, and we encourage the interest and participation of others. My job is to advocate for inclusion, for a diversity of ideas and people, and for truth: not fearmongering. Other than this, I like to run, DJ, and hang out with my miniature Highland steer, Moose.

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5 Comments

Bomberman says 1 month ago

Well written, and excellently on point – a refreshing change for writing in this sphere 😀 But you’re quite right, for our side – the crypto side – no good can come from this. Regardless of how well Vitalik were to handle this it will be Nouriel’s selected sound bites that will receive the most mass media attention. Recall as well, this is a man who is perfectly happy to outright lie to further his popularity grab.

Because of all the FUD spread 99 % of the population are Nouriel Roubini. Disrupting FIAT is a shock to most humans and especially so in developed countries. In Australia we have just had a major Banking inquiry. People are upset but not responding with feet on the ground. No one really hurting the system. Arguing with Doom will just create more mainstream flak.

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